Authoress Note: Holy crack! You like it! You really like it! Yay! Oh thank you thank you thank you thank you thank you!!!!!! When I was first writing it I was like "Yay! I'm so damn excited!" and in the middle of class (I've been writing this in summer school) I would burst into a smile and clap quietly (all because I was so happy I was making so much progress), drawing some rather weird looks from the people around me. -.-;; But then as I was typing it up it seemed to get shorter and shorter as I edited it, cutting and pasting everywhere around this thing. I didn't think it would get a very good response. But it did! Thank you all so much!

Another Note: Somewhere in this chapter the darn story just stopped going where I wanted it to, (actually, this whole story started out differently and changed into something totally not what I had in mind), so if it seems a little... off... now you know why!

Disclaimer: As much as I want to own Yu-Gi-Oh and Evanescence and all things pertaining to both of the aforementioned thingies, I don't. *bawls* I do, however own this plot. SO THERE!

Summary: Yugi and Yami do not know each other, but they've both been going to the same café. Yami has been watching Yugi and is learning all about him. What happens when Yami's innocent fascination with the other turns into a something that he can not get out of his head? Songfic to Evanescence's "Give Unto Me"

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Let Me Save You

Chapter II: Poison

Yami ran as fast as he could to the dark alley before him.

'Why are they doing this?!'

He paid no heed to the few cars in the street as he ran across. One slammed on its breaks to avoid hitting Yami, but he just kept running. He turned into the dark alley and stopped, panting, to allow his vision to adjust before advancing. He looked around quickly. He saw them; down in the middle of the alley, close to the right wall. One seemed to be struggling with something while the other raised his arm and hit the thing in front of the first.

'Yugi.' Yami decided angrily. He crept towards them quickly and silently.

"Did you miss us, Runt?" a gruff male's voice asked. The question was followed with a soft whimper.

Another voice, this time harsh but somewhat high-pitched, spoke up, "Yeah, Pipsqueak. It's been almost tow days since your last beating."

Yami stopped. He was just a few feet behind them now, with no plan. He looked around, trying to think of something he could do. He spotted a metal trash can, picked it up, and used it to knock away the guy that was not holding Yugi. The second one looked behind him in surprise. The shock loosened his grip on the small teen, and when his face met with the trash can, he stumbled, releasing Yugi as he fell next to his buddy in the snow.

Yugi faltered and fell onto his knees before crawling desperately towards Yami. Yami pulled the smaller boy up to stand. The purple-eyed teen took this as a sign of aggression and his body became rigid with fear.

~Give unto me your troubles~

"Calm down, it'll be okay." Yami tried to reassure him. He pulled the small teen behind him so that he was between Yugi and the two attackers. "I'm not going to hurt you."

The two men were starting to stand up, anger blazed clearly in their eyes.

"Who are you?" They spat. As they advanced, Yami caught the scent of beer on the cold night's air.

'They're drunk.' He realized in annoyance. 'I should have known.'

Instead of replying, Yami prepared to fight. He suspected that they would probably beat him, were they sober, but in their drunken state he had a chance. Still, there were two of them and only one of him, and the alcohol in their bodies could cause them to do things they wouldn't normally do.

The crimson-eyed teen let out a deep breath. 'I'll just have to do this.' He shrugged his shoulders and rolled his neck to get ready mentally and physically. Afterwards, he glares at the two men who were slowly advancing in a casual manner.

"You will not touch this boy again." Yami boomed powerfully.

The two laughed. The taller of them spoke up. "And who's gonna to stop up?" He was the source of the higher-pitched voice.

Yami put his chin up higher in defiance as he stepped forward to meet them. "I am."

They laughed again, this time chuckling with arrogance. The teen stood fast, surveying them as they giggled drunkenly. Yami had no doubts that they had had more than just a few drinks. Ever aware of the frightened teen behind him, Yami stepper even closer to move the drunks away. The pair's laughter had stopped by the time they stood merely a foot away from each other.

"An' just whadaya think yer gonna do 'bout it?" The shorter or the couple slurred. Yami's lack of reply and stubborn glare annoyed the others. The taller raised his arm and went to backhand the opposing teen when he reached his boiling point. Just as he was swinging his arm down, Yami caught it and twisted with all his might. Pain forced the man down to his knees.

At first the man's partner in crime was completely oblivious to what was happening to his friend. When realization set in, he reacted by ramming his fist into Yami's stomach, causing Yami to release the arm he held and double over in pain and breathlessness.

~I'll endure all your suffering~

The one that punched him helped the other stand up, all the while Yami was straightening and preparing himself again. He cast a quick glance over his shoulder and found that Yugi still stood where he was left, eyes wide in shock and fright. Yami turned his head back to watch the others who were standing as if challenging him to attack. He refused to give, and yelled to Yugi.

"Yugi! Get out of here!"

Yugi stiffened, his eyes growing wider. 'How... How does he know my name?! And who is he? Why does he look so much like me?!' Yami speaking to him made Yugi realize the similarities in their appearances. They both have the same spiky red, black, and blonde hair- though in the darkness the color was hard to discern- they wore similar clothing- loose fitting jeans and a blue jacket- from what he could see. 'How did he know that I was in trouble? Is he... Is he a... An angel?'

By the time Yugi had finished his thoughts, Yami and the others were back at it, Yami waiting and estimating the impact of his punches, while the other two would randomly jump at Yami and try to hit him. Yami dodged them almost every time; only two punches had landed, neither of which could cause terrible pain. Backing up against the wall, Yami looked around for something he could use. There, about two feet away from him, was a long thick plank of wood. Darting toward it, he grabbed the plank and then swung it around against the shorter bully who fell to the side, knocking the other over and into the snow. Yami too think opportunity to make sure Yugi had left.

He stole a quick looks over his shoulder. Finding Yugi still there, his anger rose.

"Yugi! Go! Get out now!" I command him harshly.

But Yugi still stood there as stiff as the board that Yami was holding.

'Why isn't he leaving?' he yelled inside his head. "Yugi! Listen to me! Leave! Now!"

~Place onto me your burden~

Yugi continued staring. Suddenly he opened his mouth and yelled, "Behind you!"

Yami turned around just in time to see a fist come flying at his face. The connection was solid and Yami stumbled backwards at the contact. His foot slid out from under him in the slippery snow and he fell on his back, looking straight up at Yugi.

Yugi stared down at him with a look of sad fear in his eyes before he turned and ran.

'Finally,' he sighed as he stood up. The others were up as well. The one with the high-pitched voice held something in his left fist. In one quick and skillful movement, a flash of silver sprang from his hand, and Yami recognized the silver to be the steel blade of a knife.

'Ah, fuck.'

He had to think fast. The two were advancing steadily, though not very quickly. Thoughts tore through his brain. Thoughts of why he had dived in and taken this fight upon himself, thoughts of how he could get out of this alive, and thoughts of what they may do to him if they catch him.

'Fool,' he scoffed to himself. 'You know why you did this. You did it for the boy. For Yugi. You at least stand a chance. He, on the other hand, would have crumbled like stale bread. They said they had done this before, but how many more times could the child take it?'

No thoughts of how to win forced there way through Yami's thick skull, despite how many other thoughts flooded in. By the time the others were a meager two feet from him Yami finally had a plan of sorts.

'Do not give up. Fights like your life is over if you lose this. Oh wait... it is.'

When the shorter grabbed for him, Yami lashed out, punching with both fists as hard as possible. Ducking around the punches, the tormenter was able to grab Yami's arms with a bone crushing force. He turned him around so that Yami's back was to the man's front with his arms held down behind his back. The taller let out a hideous laugh that made Yami want to claw his ear drums out.

"Looks like we have you now, Hero. Did you really think that you could save the midget and get off free?"

Yami felt the man holding him smirk. He shuddered as the man's hot breath spilled onto the back of his neck as he spoke. "Yeah, Hero! Yeh should learn that in real life th' good guys never win!"

Yami's resolve strengthened. "It's better to die protecting someone than live life as the worthless scum that you two are."

The face of the man in front of him contorted with rage. Clearly he didn't like hearing the truth. His arm shot out, quick as lightning, to strike Yami's across the face. The punch made Yami's vision blur, mixing the man in with the snow and the wall behind him. He shook his head, laughing in victory to clear his head up.

"Do what you will to me. I've already one." The ruby-eyed boy challenged.

If Yami thought that the man's face could not get uglier or angrier, he was wrong. His mouth twisted up in a snarl and his eyes widened in outrage. All of a sudden he let out a yell and swung his arm up; the arm that held the knife. The silver of the blade flashed in the beginning of the movement, warning Yami of the other's action. Just in time, he wiggled loose enough to bend down, revealing instead the neck of the man holding him. The grip on his arms disappeared as the short man reached up to claw at his neck, which was now spilling a warm red liquid. It was as if a dam had broke, releasing its contents in a huge flash flood large enough to drown the world. As his friend let out a cry of horror, the man sunk to his knees. It wasn't long before he collapsed completely face first into the snow, choking and sputtering as the last of his life seeped out of him.

Yami's spiky-haired head looked down at the dead attacker with a look on his face that clearly said "Serves you right" while the other man stared on in horror and rage. When Yami lifted his head to look at the other, the man looked right back at him.

"You..." he began, "You killed him!"

Yami shrugs. "If you say so."

Angered by the nonchalant attitude of the spiky-haired boy in front of him, let's out a thunderous shout of indignation. Before Yami had time to comprehend what was happening, the man had flipped the blade around so that the hilt of the dagger was at the base of his hand. He lifted his arm high above Yami's head right before slamming the hard metal of the dagger's hilt into Yami's temple. Yami sank to his knees next to the dead body that was surrounded by dark red all around in the snow. Once again Yami's vision clouded over, allowing him to see the surviving man run off before the blanket of darkness completely enveloped him.

~I'll drink your deadly poison~